All aboard the mobile museum of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame

Long Island Music Hall of Fame’s Mobile Museum

Walk inside the Long Island Music Hall of Fame's Mobile Museum and it's hard to believe you're on a bus. The project that's been in the works for three years was created by the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, a nonprofit dedicated to recognizing, honoring and preserving Long Island's longstanding and diverse music heritage.

MELVILLE, N.Y. - Walk inside the Long Island Music Hall of Fame's Mobile Museum and it's hard to believe you're on a bus.

"People need to know who came from this great Island. It's not just rock and roll--it's folk music, Broadway, it's opera, it's classical," said Kevin O'Callaghan, the designer with Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

The project that's been in the works for three years was created by the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, a nonprofit dedicated to recognizing, honoring and preserving Long Island's longstanding and diverse musical heritage.

The debut exhibit "On the Record" includes videos from Hall of Fame's inductees and donated memorabilia. The walls are covered with concert posters and the floor is a collage of some 200 albums digitally printed on vinyl.

Notable keepsakes include Billy Joel's gold record, a signed guitar from Twisted Sister and the Congressional Medal of Honor given to Harry Chapin. Some of music's most memorable have been a part of Long Island's local landscape. Louie Armstrong, Simon and Garfunkel and Pat Benatar all have ties to either Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn or Queens.

"Criteria is you had to have been born, lived here or created your life here," said co-founder James Faith with the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

"I think it's really important for kids to understand the value of what they have here at home," said board member Kelly Leung.

The ultimate goal of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame is to open a permanent educational facility. Members say it's in the works. There's so much history that needs to be showcased.

"We decided we'd let the world know we've had more musicians record from Long Island than anywhere else in the United States," Faith said.

The Mobile Museum will travel to school districts and community events on Long Island starting in 2020.